Neue Perspektiven auf die Präsidenten des Internationalen Olympischen Komitees Teil I: von Dimitrios Vikélas bis Avery Brundage, 1894–1972

In over 130 years of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) existence, it has had only ten presidents. It was led in unbroken succession by nine men until Kristy Coventry was elected as the first woman in 2025. ‘Founding father’ Pierre de Coubertin conceived that the office, like the IOC headquarters, should rotate according to the same principle as the host city of the Olympic Games. However, the plan failed after the first Olympiad. Since then, the rules for presidential elections have changed numerous times. Sometimes there was talk of a lifetime term, sometimes of ten years. For a long time, it has been limited to eight years with the possibility of re-election. In the early years, it was difficult to find a candidate at all, but the presidency has recently become an issue of power and prestige, including election campaigns and lobbying, just as in politics. Today, this office is one of the most prestigious and coveted positions in the world, but it also poses the highest demands. The president’s duty is, on the one hand, to lead the global Olympic Movement like a head of state, while, on the other, to meet the highest moral standards and maintain absolute independence.